Halloween
by NineSoul
Summary: Modern day AU. Sanji had been so busy, costume ideas were shoved to the back of his mind. He hadn't thought it would be a big deal, until a certain swordsman bashed his only idea for a costume. What now?
1. Costume

_**Ooookay, here's the first chapter of my lovely Halloween ZoSan. It'll be a few chapters long, but, they'll be under 4,000 words. The updates should be pretty quick. I just found my groove for this one, sooo... Enjoy!**_

The chilly October air filled the two story home, flowing in through every open window and door. Even though it was almost dark and chilly was becoming cold, every possible opening remained ajar. Why? Well, that's simple enough.

Celebrating their first fall since they became high schoolers, a certain group of friends 'accidentally' almost blew up the living room. 'Accidentally', meaning, the three stooges, Chopper, Ussop and Luffy were making a lovely concoction for pranking the neighbors on Halloween, Nami and Robin were chatting about their costumes while reading magazines off to the side a bit, and Zoro and Sanji were being quite themselves. Apparently, when you knock over a girl, and feed magazines to Ussop's weird prank potion, and the carpet, you get a product similar to acid that smells like rotting ass.

Oh yes, by this time, Makino-san was glad to have allowed them to party in her house, in the most sarcastic way.

As quickly as possible, the responsible parties were set to cleaning up the mess. After a good twenty minutes of arguing, it was decided that the responsible parties were none other than Sanji and Zoro, no matter how much they tried to deny working together.

The much degraded cook wrung out his rag over the bucket of bleach water and slapped it back down to the one-foot wide squiggly circle of hardwood where the carpet was eaten away. "Ugh, I can still smell it! Stupid bastard. Why'd you spill that shit?" Sanji grumbled, slapping Zoro's arm with the rag.

Zoro, who was sitting across the eaten area from Sanji, narrowed his eyes at the cook. "It's your fuckin' fault!" Zoro growled, spraying more carpet cleaning foam on the singed areas of the carpet.

From the other room, Makino-san called, "_No more of that language, please and thank you boys!_"

"Yes ma'am!" The two cleaning the floor responded in unison, causing another glaring match. Though, in their heads, they would rather speak in unison than come up against Makino-san. She was scary when she wanted to be.

"'S your fault..." Sanji mumbled, scrubbing away at the bald spot on the floor. "I'm not the one who got all defensive over a stupid costume idea...!" Zoro growled, quietly, so that Makino wouldn't hear.

"It isn't stupid, you bas-!" _"Language!"_

Sanji glared at Zoro. "Never mind!" He hissed, standing up, and taking the bleach water with him. For the most part, the wood was free of the rotting ass smell, so his part was done. Sanji walked briskly to the kitchen sink, and placed the bucket upright in the sink, in case Makino needed it later. He had turned on the tap, and begun washing his hands in the slowly warming water, before taking notice of the seaweed that had followed him into the kitchen.

"Where do you think you're going?" Zoro whispered hoarsely, arms crossed over his chest, can of carpet cleaner sticking out from behind his arm where he had his hand tucked into his elbow. Almost comical to Sanji, it seemed the Moss, who had the easier job, did not want to be by himself.

"You gonna miss me, shitty swordsman?" The cook taunted, turning the water off and patting his hands on his pant legs to dry them.

Laughter could be heard from upstairs, where their friends had moved the party to, and Zoro growled. Whether or not they were laughing at him, he didn't want people to think he liked or missed Sanji, whom he considered his rival. "No way! That's not what I fuckin' asked anyway. You are _not_ going to stick me to this by myself!"

The blonde just scoffed, tossing the soaked bleach-rag into a hamper just inside the laundry room doorway. He then made his way upstairs, sparing one last sneering look at Zoro before he disappeared into the hallway.

"Shitty little-!"

_"Roronoa-kun, hush please."_ Makino-san interrupted his insult from her spot under the Kotatsu in the sitting room, reading a book. That was the third time in the last five minutes she'd had to tell one of those boys to stop cursing. _Honestly_, she thought, _those two combined with Shanks and his friends are corrupting Luffy and little Chopper._

Zoro grumbled, passing through the doorway back into the living room. He stopped a few feet away from the spot in the carpet, shaking his glaring head. It wasn't his fault that the spot was there. After all, what the hell was Ussop doing making acid in Makino's house? Zoro didn't make Ussop do that! And he sure as hell didn't make Sanji start a fight! That would be like Zoro himself starting the fight, and he doesn't do that... unless the cook is just being unreasonably idiotic.

Okay, so, that's most of the time, but, still... It wasn't his fault. That, the swordsman had decided, was the truth. He was definitely going to get back at the cook for making him do all this work. As to how... well, he'd figure that out later on. For now, he had to get upstairs and join the party. After all, he wouldn't want to miss out on the idea-pitching of any more great pranks.

"Oh, come on, Sanji-kun! You can tell me!" Nami urged, leaning forward on her palms _just so_, emphasizing her breasts.

A nosebleed trickled down to his lips as Sanji jumped up. "Mellorine~!" He shouted, clapping his hands together and floundering about the large room. He almost bumped into several of his friends, but, as logic would suggest, it would be an unavoidable collision. Nami was fuckin' hot. _Especially_ when she tried to get information out of people. Well, guys. _So persuasive..._

"Soo... you'll tell me about your costume?" The redhead asked, blinking innocently at Sanji. He stopped his carrying on and looked at Nami with a strangely serious expression. "I'm afraid not. It's got to be a secret." Sanji announced, giving a wink so as to not come across rude.

That did nothing to quell the irritation of Nami. She huffed and turned away, before waving for everyone's attention. Once all eyes were on her, she smiled a strange smile, and innocently said, "Don't you all want to know what Sanji's costume will be?"

"Yeah! Hey, why haven't you told us yet?" Luffy yelled, Ussop and Chopper nodding in agreement behind him. The cook stared at them, and then at Robin, who gave him a slight nod and a smile. _How can even Robin-chwan miss the meaning of 'secret'?_

Sanji shook his head. "I can't tell you. It's not even a good idea, so, I'll probably do something else. Besides, we still have a week!" The cook reasoned, seating himself on the futon beside Robin. The three stooges pouted in unison; "We told you what our costumes are gonna be!" They whined, now pissed that their friend would withhold such information.

"That's right!" Nami nodded smugly, sitting a bit straighter on her cushion, and laying her hands on the table in front of her. "You are now obligated to tell us." She stated, pointing at Sanji. He waved his hands in front of himself defensively, and a thought sparked in his head. "Nami-san... you haven't told _me_ what you're going as?" The cook raised a curly brow at her, and the redhead just scoffed.

"It's quite simple. Robin and I are going as hot devils so we can get more candy which I'll sell to those loons throughout the rest of the year," She jerked her thumb towards Luffy, Ussop, and Chopper to her right, and they whined promptly. "And perhaps even further after New Year's." Nami added, crossing her arms over her chest. "Now, _you_."

The cook did his best to avoid her gaze, looking around at the weird scribbles in red crayon on the light orange wallpaper, (Courtesy of Luffy). "W-well, you know, Nami-swan... I, uh, it's just a bad idea. I don't know what I'm gonna go as yet... okay?" Sanji smiled nervously at her, trying to get away without anybody else laughing at his ideas.

"Not 'okay'!" Nami slammed her palms on the coffee table, effectively rattling their mugs of hot cocoa. "Halloween is a week away and you don't have a costume yet? What have you been doing all month?"

"Everyone else started preparing in June, Sanji!" Ussop pointed out, scrawling something on a notepad of possible pranks. Luffy and Chopper leaned over the notepad, and a few seconds later they laughed. "Good one!" Luffy laughed, and Chopper echoed him; "Yeah, good one, Ussop!"

As the long-nose began a long speech about how amazing and smart he was, Sanji sighed. _Good thing they believed me about that costume thing_, He thought. There was no way, after how Zoro reacted, that he was going to tell them about it. _It was kind of stupid anyway..._

The others had good purpose for their costume choices. Nami and Robin are best friends, so it only makes sense that they should have coordinated costumes. And, of course, that their effort is profitable.

Luffy, Ussop and Chopper were going as zombies, because... well, zombies are fuckin' cool. Beats the shit outta vampires, anyway. Zoro was going to be an un-dead Samurai, so, in a way, also a zombie.

But, the only one whose costume had not been in the works for months, the brilliant mind who had, spur of the moment, decided that he would go all out and disguise himself so that even his friends wouldn't recognize him, was the same idiot that thought telling Zoro about his idea was okay. Sanji wasn't sure why he did that. Perhaps, it was just fun to have someone in on it with him? Perhaps, he actually kind of trusted that shithead to act like a real friend, and go along with him to help the effect of his idea?

_So farfetched... Zoro? My friend?... I don't know._

At that moment, simultaneously, the swordsman walked in, and Sanji's phone buzzed in his pocket. Sanji pulled out his cell, and sighed looking at the caller ID. Zoro was greeted, or at least acknowledged by everyone except Sanji, who stood from the futon on past Zoro out the door. This irritated him, but he didn't act on that irritation past whispering 'asshole' as the blonde passed him.

The cook didn't respond, instead flipping open his phone and beginning a conversation without as much as a 'hello'. From the sound of it, he was arguing with someone, but, his friends were busy conversing about the up-coming Halloween festival. The occasional 'shut up!' and 'dusty bastard' could be heard from the hall. Not that that was an out-of-the-norm phone conversation for Sanji.

"Damn old fart! You said I could come in late today!... You did!... You DID!... Stupid bast- YES YOU DID!" Sanji shouted into the receiver. "Fine! I'll fuckin' come to work on a day you _promised_ I'd have off! Yes. You. Did... You can't say a goddamn word about my attitude!"

By this point in the conversation, everyone in the household had tuned their ears to Sanji's end of the peculiarly loud and vulgar phone call. Even the swordsman could find it in himself to sympathize with Sanji. Work was a bitch, and that's all there was to it. Though... it seemed being assistant head chef at the Baratie was harder than teaching a classroom full of snotty kids how to hold a sword.

"Oh, fuck off! I'm already on my way to help your sorry, crotchety old ass out so shut up! ... Stop calling me eggplant!" And with that, Sanji hung up. His hands were balled into fists, so tightly that he was almost sure he'd break his phone. The cook inhaled deeply, and then exhaled an angry, resigned sigh. He was glad for the promotion, for the pay, but not for the hours.

He plastered the closest 'semblance of a smile he could muster onto his face, and strode to the doorway of the room where all his friends sat, seemingly going about their regular business, but glancing at him out of the corner of their eye. Well, the subtle ones, anyway.

"You're going already?" Luffy whined, pouting to set a record.

The cook laughed, a rather dark sound, and said, "Yeah, the old man's got me working over time this week, apparently." He then walked across the room and snatched up his school bag. "I only hope I'll have Halloween off for the festival."

"You have to be there!" Luffy decided, turning on his bottom to face Sanji, as Chopper and Ussop echo him, nodding. Nami stood from her spot on the floor and said she'd see their friend to the door, and promptly pushed him out of the room, shutting the door behind them quickly.

"Sanji-kun!" Nami hissed, roughly shoving him into the hallway. She put her hands on her hips and leaned favorably on her left leg, aiming a glare at Sanji. "You are _not_ skipping out on the festival that _I_ helped plan! You _will_ be there! Understand?" The redhead whispered fiercely.

Sanji could only gulp at seeing her behavior. Sure, he'd known she, along with the rest of the high school's volunteers, had been working extra hard on this event, but, would it be so bad if he got there after the dinner rush?

_Wait, will there even be a dinner rush on Saturday, _during_ the Halloween festival? I think they have people catering so, anyone going wouldn't waste their time stopping to eat at the Baratie..._ "I'll be there!" The cook decided, smiling at Nami. Man, was that a load off his mind. He'd definitely show up early and help out. Even if that meant knocking the old fart out, and making a break for it.

In a slightly better mood, Nami huffed, and lead Sanji to the door. Not that he didn't know this place like the back of his hand. He came to hang out with his annoying friends here at every opportunity.

As they passed the sitting room, Sanji said goodbye and bowed to Makino-san, who in turn said he was welcome to come back anytime, as long as he didn't cause any more trouble. Sanji laughed, but he agreed nonetheless. He did _not_ intend to make her house smell any more like burning ass than it already did.

Nami stopped just a few feet from the door, and turned to Sanji. "There's one more thing I wanna ask you." She said, sounding a bit suspicious. The cook smiled; "Anything, my flower!" He said, gesturing for her to continue.

She smiled a bit. Not a happy smile, but, a queer one. "Why did you tell Zoro what your costume was gonna be, and not me?"

"Ah-" Sanji's mouth hung open just a bit, and his eyebrows twitched in an apologetic manner. "A-about that... Well, it was stupid of me... Really, I have to go, Nami-san!" Sanji bowed, and reached for the doorknob. Nami slapped his hand away, her smile growing ever-stranger. "Answer the question." She commanded, crossing her arms over her bust.

The cook eyed any possible ways of escape. He didn't know why he had told Zoro. He didn't know why Nami cared, despite his adequate answer earlier. But, what he _really_ didn't know was why his beloved Nami would want to keep him here when his old man was riding his ass about being at work _right now_.

Sighing at the lack of an answer, Nami stepped forward, closer to Sanji, and whispered, "If you don't tell me now, I'll tell the others that you have a crush on Zoro."

"That's crazy!"

Nami and Sanji both gasped at the blonde's outburst, and the slight pink that brightened his cheeks. "Oh. My. God." Nami said. Sanji shook his head frantically; "I'm sorry about my tone, Nami-san, but, really! The very idea makes me sick!" He tried to reason.

Taking the redhead's shock as an opportunity, Sanji slid past her, just out onto the front porch. "I'd appreciate if you didn't go spreading rumors about that, Nami-san." He said, honestly, before waving, and running over to his car.

Before anything else could be said, the cook sped off in his black El Camino, (?), leaving a very shocked, and very black-mail material over-loaded Nami in the doorway. What the hell did she just un-cover?

_**First matter of business; I could not decide what kind of car to give Sanji. I don't know much about cars, I just go on shapes and colors (lol). Buuut, I saw an El Camino on 'My Name Is Earl', so, I ran with that.**_

_**Anyway, whaddaya think? Please review!**_

_**P.S. I will be... competing? In the NaNoWriMo this year, so, updates on Attitude Match!, my other story, will be delayed, possibly until December. Thank you, good night!**_


	2. Progress

_**Ahhhhh! I'm pressed for time, so this must be brief! I did my best to build on the Sanji and Zoro elements in this chapter!**_

_**Enjoy!**_

This was far too shocking. A stab in the dark at most, and... She'd hit on something. It was just an empty threat, of course. Well, unless she could benefit from this, but, still. She didn't intend to upset a perfectly delicate drama that could unfold quite deliciously if well-seasoned. Oh, no. Disturb it, she would not. As for helping, well... she'd do her best not to be obvious.

The redhead stifled the most fan-girlish giggle that threatened to fall from her lips. She wasn't going to actually _share_ this bit of information. Perhaps with Robin, but not now. She was in Ussop's car with Zoro, and, well, Ussop, but, he didn't quite matter in this drama. Zoro, however, was key to the plot. She'd be damned if she revealed anything this incriminating so early on. She'd have to get them closer together before even coming close to spilling the beans.

For now, clearing her mind until Ussop dropped her off at home was the best plan. _No, not the best plan._ Nami thought, frowning slightly. She had hoped that Sanji would drive her home. His car was a lot cleaner than Ussop's, and she wouldn't have to put up with the weird conversations that the long-nose started.

Nami's eyes lazily rolled over to look at the dashboard of Ussop's clunky old truck. Really, a messy piece of crap. Papers everywhere; drawings, homework, and the like. Snacks littered the floor, as well as empty fast-food wrappers and cups. On a stranger note, there was a small spot on the dashboard that was free of junk, except for a figure of a wave and a ship that rocked back and forth on it when they hit a bump.

"Where did you find that thing?" Nami asked aloud, poking the ship so it would bobble. She didn't much care for trinkets, but this one seemed extremely well-made and very detailed. If it was worth anything, Ussop might just have a debt to Nami that needed repaying in the most urgent way.

The long-nose barely paid her a glance before answering, "That? Uhm... some little pawn shop? It was like twenty beli. Cool, right?"

Nami just scoffed and slumped back into her seat, returning to staring blankly out the window. On the other hand, and in the backseat, Zoro leaned forward between the front seats and examined the dash ornament. "Hey, that is kinda cool." He commented, sounding somewhat bored.

Ussop apparently didn't catch the boredom, because he launched another one of his heavily exaggerated tales at the two pitiable passengers. Luckily for Nami, she got to leave rather early on in 'The legend of Pirate Ussop-sama'. Before she bid them good-night though, she turned to Zoro; "When you get home, I expect you to call me or suffer the consequences of interest, understand?"

"Eh? What'd I do this time? I thought I already paid you back!" The swordsman glowered at Nami. In response, the redhead stuck her tongue out at him, and winked. She hopped out of the car and up the front walk to her house. "I'll be waiting on that call, Zoro!" She waved over her shoulder before disappearing through the door.

"Well, that was weird." Ussop said, glancing at Zoro, who seemed just as confused as himself. After a moment of idling, Ussop shrugged and drove off towards Zoro's house, not for a second forgetting where he was in The legend of Pirate Ussop-sama.

- The next day-

Roronoa Zoro considered himself to be intelligible. Oh, quite so. You had to have a certain perceptive nature, as well, to be a swordsman, and he was a very good swordsman. But... he held no claim to understanding the mind-set of women. Especially Nami and Robin. They were the most devious and evil people he knew, besides that crazy ero-cook, and they often tested their skills on Zoro.

Perhaps they thought it amusing? He didn't know. What he did know was that Nami had a secret, a big one, or at least thought she did, and decided that Zoro was going to play along. She had him call her just so she could spout some randomness about the Halloween festival and disaster and... whatever the hell else it was she said. Then she tells him that he needs to help Sanji with his costume.

_I mean, what the fuck? He can handle his own damn costume._

Zoro's pace slowed almost imperceptibly as he came to a restaurant. The Baratie. Of course he could stop in, get some lunch. Maybe even tell the cook that Nami thinks he can't dress himself. Okay, now he _had_ to go in.

Not another thought was spared towards the matter, and Zoro pushed open the heavy glass door, causing the bell above it to tinkle. He looked around. It's nine-ish on a Sunday, so of course, not many people were there. Two or three people on either side. The swordsman shrugged and took a seat at the counter, where he could properly watch what was going on in the kitchen.

The seating area was nice, too, but, he much preferred to watch the chefs in their natural habitat. Only a few chefs were actually in the kitchen, though, because a good many of them took Sunday off. Not Sanji.

He seemed to be humming as he made an omelet. Ever peaceful, he plated his creation and poured more egg into the pan. Another chef passed behind Sanji, and they carried on a small conversation. Zoro wanted to know what they were saying, but, at the same time, he figured he wouldn't understand them. It was probably a culinary conversation, after all.

The swordsman jumped a little and looked around when he realized he was staring. Cautiously, Zoro turned back to look into the kitchen, but, the blonde had moved. Surprisingly, he found himself a little disappointed.

"Heard ya come in."

"Gah!" Zoro gasped, spinning his barstool to the left, where Sanji stood, smirking slightly at his reaction. "Don't sneak up on me, bastard. Aren't you busy?" Zoro grumbled, facing forwards and putting his elbows on the counter. Sanji snorted, walking over behind the counter. "Yeah, but you came here for food, right? What do you want?"

The swordsman raised his eyebrows at Sanji. He was actually rather... civil, this morning. Well, they hadn't really been in each other's presence long enough this morning to be fed-up. Though one would think, as much as they fight, they would be enemies from the start of every day.

"Well?" The cook questioned, becoming confused by the staring. To Sanji, it looked like Zoro had had very little sleep. _Maybe he's sleeping right now? That'd be creepy. His eyes are open!_ Sanji thought, as he waved his hand in front of Zoro's face. The other slapped his hand away, growling slightly. "Just not breakfast." Zoro said, turning to look elsewhere.

The blonde cook hummed boredly and thumped Zoro's forehead, earning a glare from him. "It's breakfast _time_, baka-Marimo. You don't have lunch at nine thirty in the morning."

"Yes, I do."

"I mean, regular people don't."

"So what? I'm not a breakfast person."

"Too bad. I ain't making lunch this early."

"I don't want bre- Hey! Stop thumping me..."

Zoro rubbed his forehead, and turned his back to Sanji. Probably not a smart move in the long run, but, if he kept staring at that face, Sanji's eyebrow would turn into a target, and Zoro would have to see how many punches he could land on it.

"Oi." Sanji tried to get Zoro's attention, but he was ignored. _Somebody's moody today..._ "Oi, Marimo."

The swordsman took a deep breath and held it for a moment before exhaling heavily. He spun his seat back around so he was facing the cook with the best glare he could manage. "Not. Breakfast."

"Too. Fuckin'. Bad. You'll eat what I make you." The cook decided, walking swiftly through the double doors that opened into the kitchen. Zoro growled at the spot that Sanji was previously standing in. He didn't want breakfast. If he wanted breakfast, he'd have eaten cereal before he left the house. He hadn't. Therefore, breakfast was a waste. Or, something like that.

After a few minutes of taking in the sights of the Baratie, Zoro was about damn bored. And to add to that, his stomach was starting to tell him that cereal was a good idea.

To top it all off, Nami's words were bugging. Why? He'd be damned if he knew. His brain just thought it all to be a lovely subject, perhaps? That was stupid. He didn't even care about the subject, except for teasing the cook about Nami babying him. That would be so fun right about now.

As if called upon by a higher power, Sanji smoothly backed out of the kitchen holding two plates up higher than necessary. This made Zoro a bit curious, but, mostly agitated. He just wanted to eat, tease, and leave. That was all. The blonde didn't have to make a fuckin' show of it.

"Lemme guess. Poisoned?" Zoro smirked at his own words. Then again, a man who genuinely believed he was going to be poisoned would not be smirking. A man who was joking with a proud cook, who could kick pretty fuckin' hard, about being poisoned, would have even fewer reasons to smirk.

Giving Zoro a less-than-friendly kick to the side, nearly knocking him off the barstool, Sanji corrected, "Actually, it's not. Would you prefer poison? Because if you do, then, the customer is always right." The blonde laughed. Zoro coughed a bit, almost certain that one of his lungs had collapsed, and managed a sound that might have been a growl. "Stupid... Bastard."

"Yeah, yeah, eat." Sanji said, placing one plate in front of Zoro, and taking up the seat next to him with his own breakfast. The swordsman stared at him like he had horns sticking out of his face. Sanji rolled his eyes; "I haven't eaten yet either, numbskull." He said, as he reached over the counter top and grabbed two forks. He handed one to Zoro, the other accepted it with a quiet thanks, and the boringest breakfast ever began.

Zoro wasn't at all sure if he should be letting Sanji sit beside him. They were always fighting, after all, so why should it be okay now? He didn't know, and he was pretty damn sure Sanji didn't know. _It's not like we're just suddenly getting along. I mean, I was already sitting here when he came over. It was just more convenient this way. Yeah._ Zoro nodded to himself. He then surveyed what the cook had made him. _What the hell? It's a fuckin' breakfast sandwich..._

The swordsman cautiously picked up the folded up bacon omelet on whatever the hell kind of bread that was and took a bite, aware all the time that Sanji was smirking at him. He hated to admit it, but, the cook knew what he was doing. Maybe, very, very conditionally, breakfast was okay.

It didn't take long for Zoro to finish, though it took Sanji quite a few more minutes. During that time, of course, Zoro had remebered what he intended to tease the cook about. This was his opportunity. Now, quick, before the blonde has time to even think about speaki-

"Ne, Zoro?"

"Yeah?" Zoro responded too quickly, sitting up a bit straighter. He slapped himself mentally, but, it seemed that Sanji hadn't noticed his haste, as he continued. "About yesterday... What was stupid about my idea?"

Zoro groaned. Not this again. Surely the cook had no qualms about starting a fight on his own turf. "Ehh, I don't really remember." Zoro lied, scratching the back of his head. _Come on! Insulting! Why won't my mouth listen to me?_

"I see." Sanji seemed skeptical, but he kept towards his point. "I'm gonna be hard-pressed to find something before Halloween, but, Robin suggested that I go as something from history. One of her personal suggestions was a Samurai. What do you think?"

"Huuh? You? A Samurai? I can't see that happening." Zoro snorted. There was no _way_ Sanji could pull off being an ancient swordsman. _Right?_

Sanji hummed, looking at Zoro. It was a slightly annoyed sound, but, he didn't say anything. Instead, he collected their dishes and disappeared once more into the kitchen. A loud clatter, followed by louder shouting, reached to every corner of the restaurant. Zoro strained to see Sanji, even though the large rectangle in the wall behind the counter was an exceptional viewing window.

"Watch where yer goin', ya bastard!"

"Me? _You_ watch where _you're_ going, shithead!" That was Sanji's voice. He sounded angry as shit. He also sounded like he was picking up broken dishes.

Sanji and whichever chef cussed each other out for another few minutes before Zeff came down on both of them for trying to break his kitchen. After that, Sanji came back out and stood behind the counter a few feet away from Zoro, fuming.

He didn't know why, but, Zoro felt sort of responsible for Sanji getting in trouble with his old man. Not that he was ever _not_ in trouble with Zeff, but, still. "Oi." Zoro said, effectively getting the attention and anger of the cook. He took a breath, and continued; "If you want help with your costume... I guess I could give you a hand." Zoro's eyes were anywhere but on Sanji. He couldn't believe what he was saying. _It's just... to help disguise that annoying face, that's all. That's right._

For a long moment, Sanji said nothing, he just stared Zoro down. Did the seaweed really expect him to fall for that? He was just going to stomp on him the whole time, right? _Wait, but, he volunteered. Does that mean he's being honest? Maybe. I mean, he's supposed to be pretty honest. Well, not 'supposed to be', he is. And, I do need at least a little help with my costume..._

"Alright. I have the dinner shift for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, so I'm going to go looking after school, before that starts. You sure you wanna help?"

Zoro was kind of shocked by this answer. Chances are he was gonna get more hell than he deserved for this, but, he'd already offered. It would be mean and dishonest to back out now. "...Yeah. How hard could it possibly be?" Zoro mused aloud.

-Two days later-

Zoro flopped down on the first available rug, just inside his house. Costume shopping with Sanji was the single most draining thing he'd ever done. The cook was picky about _everything_! In addition to dealing with that prissy pain in the ass after school, Zoro had to put up with Nami's craziness teh past couple of days.

She seemed to think there was a sign on Zoro's forehead saying 'come annoy me, please, Nami, talk to me'. There was not. If Zoro ever came across such a sign, he would burn it on sight. And, maybe Nami, too. That would be a load off his shoulders to get rid of that witch.

The others didn't know what had gotten into her. Zoro had asked if she was bugging them extra hard too, but, the only one who showed any particular reaction to this had been Robin. The swordsman didn't think it was weird, though. Well, he did, just, not weird for _Robin_. She would look at him with that strange, knowing smile on her face, and her eyes would linger a bit too long to be comfortable.

Zoro just didn't get it. The girls were being weird. Weird-_er_. No one else seemed to notice. He even pointed it out to Ussop, for god's sake. And Chopper, too. He knew Luffy wouldn't have a clue, but, Chopper? He was such a vigilant kid, and even _he _missed it.

Earlier, he asked Sanji about the girls acting weird, and the cook completely dodged the subject. _I thought those women were his favorite subject? Well, whatever. I didn't want to talk about them, anyway._

Zoro sighed, rolling over onto his back. He stared up at the ceiling, recounting the events of his two hour shopping trip. Believe it or not, he and Sanji had gotten along well enough. Minimal fighting and name-calling. Plus, they made fun of weird costumes together. It may have been exhausting to walk around one side of town for two hours, but, it wasn't dull.

When things started to slow down and get boring, Sanji started a conversation that distracted Zoro until they arrived at the Baratie, where they parted ways. The minute Sanji was in the door, Zeff was yelling at him, and Sanji was yelling back. At one point, Zeff had looked out the door and made eye-contact with Zoro, before turning swiftly on his peg leg to barrate someone else for something else.

Zoro wasn't sure, but, he thought he saw something in Zeff's eye. Something that reminded him of Robin and Nami that day.

_**Whatcha think? Well? I really like where this is going, but, Imma have to rush it a bit to finish before Monday. Thank you for reading, and please review!**_


	3. Closer

_**This one ran a little long, but, hey! I finished it in one day! ONE DAY! I knoooooow, I'm amazing, right? Prepare for some little fluffy bits in this one. Maybe. I dunno if it counts, but, I like it, sooo... yeah.^^**_

_**Okay, I must caution you, if you don't like the idea of Sanji and Zoro's relationship progressing romantically, then, you won't like this. Other than that, enjoy!**_

-Wednesday, after school-

"You two are going the same way again?" Chopper questioned, turning right just outside the school gates, and just behind Sanji and Zoro. The two in front of him seemed to stiffen a bit, and Zoro answered, "Yeah, so what?"

They had agreed to go costume shopping together, but, they had not agreed to tell anyone. In fact, they had agreed on just the opposite. Zoro didn't want people to think they were friends, and possibly more, and Sanji didn't want the women to think he willingly associated with such a barbarian as Zoro. Quite an easy point to agree on, not telling the others.

However, the medical prodigy seemed to know something else was going on. It could not be coincidence, and calm, that those two were going the same way two days in a row. Chopper didn't know what they could be doing, but, they were heading in the same direction as his house this time. Maybe...

"Ne, Ussop, Luffy, c'mere!" Chopper whispered, standing with his back against a tree, and waving at his friends to come over. They were headed in the opposite direction, but, seeing Chopper's excited expression made them very curious. Quicker than should be possible, Ussop and Luffy ducked behind the tree with Chopper.

"What is it?" Luffy asked, leaning down to Chopper's level. "Yeah, what's the matter?" Ussop looked around. There had to be a reason they were hiding behind this tree. Enemies? Sent here because they caught wind of the awesome pirate Ussop-sama, who doubles as a secret agent super spy for the universe, and they want to destroy him?

"D-d-d-don't worry Ch-ch-ch-chopper! I'lllll pro-protect you!" Ussop tried his best at a brave pose, but his wobbling knees gave him away. Nonetheless, his words were enough to convince the other two that something was indeed going to happen to them.

"P-protect me from what, Ussop?"

"Hey! Where're the bad guys? I'll kick their ass!"

"N-no! Hey, Chopper, aren't we hiding from the bad guys?"

"We are? No, I was going to ask you guys about Zoro and Sanji."

"What?" Ussop and Luffy asked simultaneously, peeking around the trunk of the tree, and looking at Sanji and Zoro's backs as they got farther and farther away. Chopper peeked out as well, just as Zoro turned his head to the side. "Hide!" Chopper squeaked, shrinking behind the tree again. After he figured they had held their breaths long enough, Chopper asked, "Hey, have either of you noticed that those two haven't been fighting as much? And, yesterday, they went in the same direction. Isn't that weird?"

"Yeah..." Ussop and Luffy exchanged a look. "That is weird, but... We didn't notice."

"What? How can you not notice? They've been so weird!" Chopper shouted. He gasped and slapped his hands over his mouth, chancing a look to make sure the coast was clear, and that he hadn't just given away their position. He sighed, seeing that neither Sanji nor Zoro had noticed them, or at least didn't show it, and turned back to the other two. "Anyway, I was thinking about following them. Just to see what's going on... I mean, aren't you curious, too?"

"You mean... We'd be spying?" Luffy grinned, and turned to Ussop. "On Sanji and Zoro?" Ussop asked, shaking a little bit. "What if they found out? They'd kill us!"

Chopper shook his head. "No, but, see, I," Chopper paused, glancing around the tree at the disappearing figures. "I live a while down that way... If they catch us, we could say that we're headed over to my house?" He suggested, raising his eyebrows in question, just in case they thought it was a bad idea. There was no chance of that.

"Sounds cool!" Luffy announced, slapping on his signature grin, and nodding decidedly at Chopper, who smiled in response. The two of them looked to Ussop, who seemed to be deliberating in his mind about something. _Something_.

Dividing his attention evenly between the two smiling faces, Ussop sighed. "Okay, whatever. If they don't buy it, it's your ass!" And with that, the three of them hurried across the street, and forwards, occasionally slipping into the shadows between buildings.

"What about that one?" Sanji pointed into an overly-decorated window at a blue velvet cape and a matching black hat with a bright blue plume sticking out. Zoro couldn't believe his eyes. How could someone with the, dare he say it, _style_ that Sanji has, pick such a strange costume? Well, it wasn't too bad, compared to others. Yesterday, Sanji had found a great deal of amusement in a werewolf costume, that he insisted Zoro try on. _Ugh._

Zoro shook his head. "Kinda stupid." He shrugged, aiming his bored stare at a giant spider web with a gaudy spider decoration. _Damn. I shoulda just said 'yeah, go with that one!'. Why the hell am I so honest..._

Sanji hummed thoughtfully, then shrugged and walked into the store. Zoro followed him in, just in case his opinion was wanted again. It wasn't. The entire time they were in there, Sanji voiced his thoughts to no one but himself, and didn't touch a single costume. Which Zoro found strange, because this shop had better costumes than the other ones they visited the day before. Perhaps, the cook wasn't interested in normal costumes. Perhaps, he only wanted expensive ones. These costumes were rather inexpensive.

As they exited the store, Zoro inwardly snorted. It wasn't likely that Sanji would opt for such hoity-toity behavior when time until the festival was slim. Even if it was in his nature to act rich, to act like the world would stop turning for as long as he wanted until he found his costume. God, that would be so annoying. _We'd be at this forever..._

Not that Zoro thought hanging out with Sanji was boring, by any means. He could be fun if he wanted to be, or he could be a pain in the ass. But, to Zoro's surprise, he didn't seem to want to be a pain in the ass. That wasn't a bad thing, but it was a shocking thing. Weren't they rivals? Fighting was only necessary. If they didn't fight, then... what? Zoro couldn't figure it out. He guessed they could try to be friends, but, since the cook had agreed not to tell the others they were even hanging out, maybe he didn't want to be friends. At least, publicly. Zoro could handle that. What he couldn't handle was thinking so hard over something so small! _I'm just helping him look for a costume, for God's sake!_ The swordsman groaned in irritation as he followed Sanji down the street.

The cook noticed this, acknowledging it with a glance over his shoulder before asking, "What is it?" Even though he was quite sure Zoro was tired of shopping with him. He knew it was only a matter of time. From the very start he knew that. He knew he would eventually bore the swordsman, but, he had tried to avoid it by taking cracks at weird costumes and starting conversations that wouldn't be entirely boring for him. Apparently, he failed.

"Nothin'." Zoro answered, hands in his pockets. There was absolutely no way in _hell_ he was divulging his thoughts to Sanji. Definitely not. Even if it killed him, the thoughts and actions that occurred this day were to be classified as top-secret.

-Speaking of top-secret-

"Are they _shopping_?" Ussop questioned. He couldn't believe his eyes. None of them could believe their eyes. Luffy had a harder time understanding _why_ he couldn't believe his eyes, but, that didn't change the unbelievability.

"That's what it looks like to me." Chopper said, crouching just a little bit lower behind the trashcan he was using as a hiding spot. _Why would they be shopping together_? He asked himself, before making a mad dash for a large bench, and hiding behind it.

A few paces behind Chopper were Luffy and Ussop in their current disguises; sunglasses, fedoras, trench coats, and newspapers. The only reason Chopper wasn't dressed like that was because they couldn't find a trench coat small enough for him. He had felt left out; until they told him he could be in front and be super sneaky.

"Maybe they're buying meat! Hey, Chopper, can we catch up to them, now? I want meat, too!" Luffy whined, holding his newspaper down so he could see Chopper. The smaller boy appeared to be shushing him, and glaring as best he could. "They aren't buying meat! They went into a costume shop!" Chopper whispered.

"Let's go see what they're doing in there!" Luffy announced more than suggested, and tried to run over to the shop window, but Ussop grabbed hold of the back of Luffy's coat, and yanked him back. "No! You'll give us away!" Ussop scolded, pulling Luffy along into another crevice between shops.

"But, I wanna talk to Sanji and Zoroooo! They're our friends, Ussop!"

"SHUSH!" Chopper called. "They're coming out!"

Again. No luck. Sanji hadn't even really been looking that time, Zoro guessed, because he didn't say anything. Not even when Zoro pointed out a stupid-looking clown costume. He wondered if Sanji had liked that costume, because the blonde seemed a bit angry when Zoro made his comment. Not that he cared, but, with such a sudden change, one has to wonder if one did something to upset the cook.

They were headed to the last store for today, since it was nearing five o'clock, and Sanji had to be at work before six. The sun was already becoming tired. This last shop was likely to be less crowded. The other few had a good-sized crowd cruising through their stock, but, those people probably already succeeded in getting their costumes by now. At least, that's what Zoro wanted to think. He could still hope, though.

"Ah-haaaa." Sanji looked in the window of another shop. It wasn't expressly costumes, it was actually a weird cult shop, that sold a lot of weird-ass spiritual things, but, they also had a good selection of costumes, not to mention a larger interior.

When they walked in, the cashier was in a bit of an argument over the phone, and only nodded his head towards the costumes on the left side of the large room. There were several aisles of out-there sorts of things, and, seemingly out of place, there was a large white sign sticking out to the side of a shelf that read 'Halloween costumes' in marker. Sanji made a bee-line for that aisle.

Zoro followed him at a slower pace. He sort of wanted to see what costumes were here. But, more than that, even if he didn't admit it to himself, he wanted to cheer Sanji up. If he was pissed off at Zoro, then the latter would fix that.

A chuckle came from the first costume aisle, sparking Zoro's curiosity. As soon as he walked into the aisle, he saw Sanji poking a skeleton mask that had plastic gold coins glued to it. "Whoa. That looks like Nami in eighty years." Zoro observed, standing beside Sanji and running a finger over a ridge in the mask above the eyebrow.

To his surprise Sanji laughed, almost a cute sound, and put the mask back on the shelf. "I guess it kinda does." He said, moving on to an undead lobster costume. He laughed at that one, too, then seemed to think of something, and stopped laughing. He looked at Zoro, with a mix of curiosity and something else in his eyes, which the swordsman mentally slapped himself for noticing, and Sanji said, "You can leave now, if you want."

"Why would I leave?" Zoro asked, bluntly, as he switched to looking at the costumes on the shelf opposite Sanji. The cook was dumbfounded, to say the least, by Zoro's reply. Wasn't he bored? Weren't they rivals? This situation didn't make sense if either of those were true. At least, not to Sanji. He had to get to the bottom of this.

"Aren't you bored?"

"No."

"Don't you have better things to do?"

"Not at the moment."

"Well, you should leave. It's not like I even need your help." That one, for Sanji, took quite an effort to say. He wasn't looking at Zoro, and he was sure that Zoro wasn't looking at him, and in that moment, for a reason that Sanji was only beginning to see, he believed they wouldn't make eye-contact for a while after this day.

"Do you want me to leave?" Zoro asked, stopping what it was he was doing, and turning to look at the back of Sanji's head. The blonde seemed to shrink a bit, as if trying to get away from those words. He wasn't answering, though, and that gave Zoro a feeling he couldn't describe if he tried.

The cashier yelled colorfully into his phone, startling the two in the costume aisle. That didn't throw them off subject, though, no matter how much Sanji wished it would. He wasn't exactly sure why he wished they could just stop talking, but, he was sure that the outcome of the next few minutes, whether good or bad, depended on how he worded his next sentence.

"... It doesn't matter. Do what you want." Sanji almost cringed at his own voice. He sounded pissed. He wasn't pissed, as far as he could tell, which was pretty damn far, but, he sounded like he would kill Zoro at any moment. That tone was not missed by the swordsman.

"Fine." The sound of heavy footsteps walking away told Sanji exactly what he wanted to know. He was relieved to be done with the situation, but he couldn't help but feel lonelier without Zoro there. They weren't best buds or anything like that, but, still, the company had been appreciated, perhaps on a higher level than Sanji would admit.

"Hey, shit-cook."

Sanji bristled at the nickname, and turned his head sharply towards the end of the aisle. His mouth fell open and his eyes could have been mistaken for dinner plates. There, at the end of the aisle, was Zoro wearing a large purple top hat with a miniature skeleton hanging off the side, a dark purple band with a wide-eyed bird attached to it around the base of the hat, and a small cluster of fake pumpkins on top. "Does this hat look too stupid?" Zoro asked, tipping the brim upwards with one finger.

It couldn't be avoided. Sanji burst into laughter, doubling over to hold his gut. He didn't want to laugh, but, it was too funny. Zoro wearing an ugly Halloween hat... A sight he never thought he'd see. For that matter, a sight he'd never imagined.

"Is that a yes?" Zoro asked, slightly offended, but more amused than anything. That wasn't the reaction he would expect from Sanji. _'The stupidness of that hat pales in comparison to the stupidness of that face!'_ or something along those lines, would have been Zoro's guess. But, this was a tolerable reaction. Especially since Sanji's laugh was probably the most amusing sound Zoro'd ever heard.

"Are they laughing?"

"That sounds like Sanji's laugh."

"What's going on in there?"

"Oh, crap, they're probably coming out soon! Scatter!"

Once Sanji had recovered enough for speech, he wiped his eyes, and said, "I thought I told you to-"

"To do what I want." Zoro cut him off, shaking his head just enough to make the hanging skeleton swing. "And, what I wanted to do was try on this stupid hat. What do you think?" Zoro finished by striking a bit of a goofy pose, earning himself another, smaller, laughing fit from Sanji.

"Ahaha... I think it suits you, Marimo!" Sanji decided, standing up straight-ish and returning to looking at costumes. Somehow, the fact that Zoro chose to stay made Sanji feel better. He told himself it was just because he planned to make Zoro pay for whatever costume items he bought, but a little voice in the back of his head, that sounded quite like the man in question, told him that there was more to the feeling than that.

Zoro thought it odd that Sanji gave up trying to get rid of him so easily, but, he was fine with that. He didn't want to leave, especially if he was being forced to. Zoro put the hat on a random shelf, and slowly made his way up to where Sanji was, looking at costume pieces all the while. Nothing jumped out at him, except the things that Sanji picked up. The blonde had such a strange taste in costumes. It was almost childish the way he based 'coolness' of costumes. One he liked because of its color. A color he couldn't name. Another he liked because the hat that matched looked like a chef's hat. It was a psycho cannibal costume. And, another one appealed to him for a very strange reason.

"This reminds me of you, Zoro." Sanji speculated, grinning and holding up a costume tie that was comically large, about the color of Zoro's hair, and had a picture of sushi on it. This made Zoro's eyebrow twitch. "Does it? I don't see it."

"That's 'cause you can't see your own hair, idiot."

Zoro growled a response, but, Sanji was distracted by a ring master costume, that was, in his own word, suave. He lightly brushed the lapel with his finger tips, and his eyes brightened. "This is kinda nice. What do you think, Zoro?"

The swordsman opened his mouth to voice his opinion, but, stopped before any sound could be made. _Did he just...? He said it, didn't he?_ Zoro struggled to close his gaping mouth. The cook just asked for his opinion, he probably wasn't thinking that hard about what he was saying. After all, why would he purposely use Zoro's name, and skip out on the opportunity to insult him?

"Oi, what do you think of this jacket? Hello?" Sanji waved his hand in front of Zoro's face. What just happened? He didn't know. Zoro probably didn't know either. _Is Moss like a goldfish? Short memory span? Or, maybe, he's sleeping with his eyes open again?_

"Hm? Oh, uh, yeah, that one's cool." Zoro tripped over his own words, and looked away. _What the hell? If his own name bothers him that much, I should use it more often. Shuts him up good. Unless, he didn't zone out just because I used his name? I guess it would be weird of me to think so. He seemed to be thinking, though. I wonder what about. Maybe it doesn't matter. I dunno. But, when I ask for his opinion, I'd rather it be honest than dazed._

"Stop thinking so much. Now, tell the truth. What do you honestly think of this jacket?" Sanji coaxed, taking the jacket down so he could see the matching pants behind it.

"Eh... It would really look good on you." Zoro said, taking the cook's advice and not thinking about it.

Sanji almost laughed, he was so surprised. But, he wouldn't laugh. Not if he wanted to hear things like that again from Zoro. And, he did. A lot. He was shocked by that, but, he couldn't deny himself the truth. Well, going on that, he should be admitting much more than that to himself. But, he had until Saturday to come to terms with these things, and he would be damned if he took any less time than he was given.

That is, unless Zoro helped him come to certain conclusions.

_**Sorry, I kind of dropped away the super spy bits, but, there'll be a recap of their findings next chapter. Reviews are loved!**_


	4. Drifting

_**Happy Halloween! I am totally pressed for time, but, I must put in my author notes! This is, quite likely, my favorite chapter so far, only to be topped by the last chapter, which is the next one, the one I'm starting on right now!**_

_**Enjoy!**_

"You saw _what_?" Nami asked, beaming and scowling at the same time. Chopper shied away from her as she stood from her seat. "Why didn't that idiot tell me? No, never mind, it can wait. Continue, please." The redhead nodded, re-seating herself, and gesturing for Chopper to continue. Luckily for her, Robin had only invited the three stooges, and Zoro and Sanji had been busy. That way no one would stop her from getting to the good stuff.

"Uhm, well, after we first spotted them-"

"We weren't following them! Damn zombies!" Chopper was cut off by Luffy, who shouted to them since he was in the other room playing video games. "Shut up, Luffy!" Nami yelled. Robin laughed at the behavior, and looked at Chopper. "Doctor-san, would you please go on with your tale about not following Cook-san and Swordsman-san?" She asked, smiling.

Chopper nodded, causing his big pink hat to wiggle on his head. "W-well, after we first spotted them, we weren't following them, mind you; we were headed to my house. Anyway, we happened to be going along a few yards behind them, and-"

"Just coincidence, really!" Ussop put in his two-cents worth, and cut Chopper for the second time in the same minute. Nami grumbled something to Robin, then shouted, "Will you _shut up_ already?" Causing Chopper to plug his ears. Once he was sure Nami was done, Chopper cleared his throat, and continued.

"Y-yes, coincidence. Didn't I mention that? Okay, um, in any case, we were just walking along and noticed they were going into some stores. More specifically, places that were selling costumes." Chopper paused, taking a breath, and waiting, just in case he was going to be interrupted again. When nobody said anything, he continued. "It seemed to me that they were just shopping for Sanji's costume, but, I only caught snippets of their conversations."

"They were conversing?" Nami asked, leaning forward from the sofa she was on, and placing her palms on the drink table that Chopper was sitting at. She looked over her shoulder at Robin, who was sitting next to her on the sofa, and said, "My plan is working faster than I thought! Won't this be interesting?"

While Robin nodded, Chopper became very, very confused. "What plan?" He asked, shifting his legs until he was sitting flat on his bottom. He was blatantly ignored as Nami carried on half a conversation and Robin occasionally nodded or responded on cue. "_What plan_?" Chopper asked, a bit louder this time.

"Never mind that, Chopper, tell me what happened next!" Nami said, nixing her conversation, and facing Chopper again, with eager eyes that told Chopper if he didn't speak quickly, she was going to have a fit. So, he spoke quickly; "By the last shop they went into, they seemed to be getting along really well. We could hear Sanji laughing, and they came out of the store with a weird looking tie, and a weirder hat."

"What was Sanji laughing about?"

"Uhm, I don't know. If I had to guess, I'd say the tie, though. It reminded me of Zoro." Chopper giggled, remembering the goofy article of clothing. Nami, however, wasn't interested in the tie because it was silly. She wanted to know which of them kept that tie.

"Hey, Chopper, what did it look like?"

"The tie?"

"Ugh, YES! The tie, what'd it look like?"

Chopper put a finger to his chin, and looked up in thought. "If I remember correctly, it was really huge, and it was green, and it had sushi on it." He laughed. Nami nearly had an episode when Chopper finished. _Sanji bought a tie that would remind him of Zoro!_ She thought, clapping her hands together and tucking them under her chin.

Oh, yes, this scene would quite do.

-The next day (Thursday, for those who aren't counting)-

"I still can't believe you bought that stupid tie." Zoro shook his head, walking along beside Sanji as they went off to their respective classes, the last one for each of them. Zoro was looking forward to finally getting some good training done today, but, he was almost certain he'd be bored. After all, swords don't carry on the same kinds of conversations that Sanji does.

"And, I can't believe you let me buy that hat. I only bought it to make you wear it, ya know." The cook replied, shoving into the swordsman lightly with his shoulder. Sanji's hands were in his pockets, fiddling with his lighter and carton of cigarettes. School was such a pain since they didn't let you smoke on the grounds. Despite his outward calm, Sanji's mind had been working overtime since he and Zoro had parted ways yesterday. It didn't help thing when Zeff asked if they were friends. Well, he only asked that so he could tell Sanji that they don't give out free meals to friends, but, nonetheless, it did a good job in kicking Sanji in the head.

Zoro noticed Sanji zoning out, and still walking beside him, even though he was about to miss his classroom. "Oi. Your class is that way." Zoro grabbed Sanji's shoulders lightly, and turned him in the direction of the sliding doors that led into the quiet room. They were by no means the first or last people to get to their classrooms, but, Sanji felt in that moment, that they should have been the last in the hall. He would slap himself for thinking that, but, then Zoro would think he was crazy. Well, more so than he already did.

Instead, Sanji shook his head lightly. "Yeah, thanks. See ya." Sanji said, flatly, weaving around a few people, ducking into the classroom, and shutting the door behind him. "_Ah, Robin-swan, if at all possible, you're even more beautiful in the afternoon light!_" Sanji's voice poured from the classroom, and more than a few people snickered as they passed. Zoro wasn't one of them.

He never really minded that the cook ranted about women's beauty, unless he just got particularly annoying about it, but, today, he found himself holding the short-stick. He was completely annoyed by the slight of an idea of a pink heart that might possibly float from Sanji within a twenty-four hour period. In the back of his mind, Zoro knew the reason for this, but, the word just wasn't coming to him.

"... See ya..." Zoro headed further down the hall for his last class, thanking his lucky stars that he didn't share that class with Sanji and Robin. He shared three classes with Sanji and Nami, and nearly went crazy on more than a few occasions because of it. Why? Well, because no matter how friendly the cook might be around Zoro alone, he was a completely different, a completely annoying, person around any girl with remotely good looks, or at least cleavage. It was so annoying, (Sanji ignored him, for heaven's sake!), and Zoro was toying with the idea of completely exploding on the cook.

On the other hand, that would indicate he gave a shit, and he didn't. No, really, he didn't. Well, it's what he's telling himself, anyway. And, for the time being, he had himself convinced.

Classes ended quicker than usual for Zoro that day. Well, it seemed that time flew faster for him when he knew he had nothing to do after school was done. He'd probably go over to Lu... Ussop's house. Makino was bound to still be miffed about her carpet. Okay, no, she was bound to be _pissed_ about the carpet. At last Mrs. Yassop, Banchina, Zoro thought, was not angry with him. Besides, Ussop had a cooler room. All his shit that he builds is in his room, and some of it is actually really cool. Now, Zoro hoped that Ussop would invite him over.

But, alas, that was not to be. Because, as Zoro, Luffy, Ussop, and Chopper were leaving the grounds in the direction of Ussop's house, Zoro received a text. He flipped his phone open, and read the small message. '_910. Need help. Up to the task?_'

The swordsman was confused, until he saw Sanji standing across the street from him, looking right at him and holding his own phone in his hands. It occurred to him that he should have just read who the sender was off his phone, but, he knew it was Sanji. The cook was eyeballing him with an expression he'd never seen before. On anyone. But, he wasn't going to go straight over there. He was going to text Sanji first.

'_910? What are you 12? What do you need help with?_' Zoro texted. As he replaced his phone in the pocket of his dark grey hoodie, he watched Sanji's reaction to his message. The cook rolled his eyes, and quickly punched in another message, then looked at Zoro.

"Hey, you comin' or what?" Luffy asked, standing with the other two at the end of the sidewalk. Zoro didn't really look at Luffy, but, in his general direction, and said, "I dunno. Hold on a minute."

He pulled out his phone, opened it, and read the cook's message. _'Major pumpkin duty at the Baratie. Gutting and carving decorations. Help?'_

Zoro almost laughed out loud. Of course they were decorating the Baratie. Why today, he couldn't be sure. Maybe they were doing some weird chef-y things and drying out the pumpkin seeds so they can sell them? That was probably the answer, but, Zoro didn't quite find the idea of eating pumpkin seeds appealing.

'_Aren't there employees for that? I ain't gonna gut pmpkns for free.'_

Probably before he even finished reading the message, Sanji replied; '_I'll pay you! Pumpkin guts are gross. By the way, it's just two vowels, you don't need to shorten it._'

'_Bastard.'_

'_So, you'll help me, right?'_

Zoro hesitated, glancing up to see his friends beckoning him again. He sighed heavily, walking up to Luffy. "You guys go on. I'll drop by later." Zoro said, patting Luffy on the shoulder. Luffy pouted, but, he relayed Zoro's words to Ussop and Chopper anyway, and the three of them left, waving a substantial goodbye to Zoro.

Once they were out of sight, Zoro crossed the street to meet Sanji. "I just know I'm gonna regret this." He mumbled to himself, as Sanji stepped over to him. The cook did a very unusual thing, in Zoro's mind, as they greeted each other. He smiled at Zoro. "Thank God you didn't chicken out! If you had, I don't know what other dumbbell I would have had to dupe into helping me with those slimy pumpkins!" Sanji said, retaining his brilliant smile.

Zoro was stuck between awe and offense. He was insulted by the comment, but, that smile... Sanji looked absolutely ecstatic to see him. That was something he didn't think he could respond to. So, he didn't respond to the smile. "If you insult me, I'm not gonna do _your_ job, stupid cook." Zoro grumbled, walking along behind Sanji, nonetheless.

"Hey! Zoro, hold it right there!"

_Shit... devil woman._ Zoro cringed away from her voice, but, that didn't stop her from running on over to him and Sanji. "Nami-swaaaan~! My lovely flower, what could you possibly want with this Neanderthal?" Sanji's split personality made an appearance. Zoro couldn't help but growl at the entrance of his least favorite persons on earth.

Nami stopped in front of Sanji, who had turned around to meet her, and she huffed in annoyance at Zoro's behavior. "I called specifically to you, you jerk. But, whatever, Sanji'll do." Nami smiled sweetly, fakely, in Zoro's opinion, at Sanji, and asked him in a sugary voice, "Are you two going shopping again?"

Both men flinched at the question. How did Nami know? _Oh, right, she told me to in the first place._ Zoro mentally berated himself for his awful memory, and scoffed over his shoulder; "Not 'cause of anything _you_ said." He mumbled, just loud enough for both Nami and Sanji to hear.

Not another moment was given, as Zoro grabbed Sanji's wrist and hurried off. He didn't know where he was going, but, anywhere was better than with Nami. If she told her tale the right way, she could make it seem to Sanji that he and Zoro weren't really friends, and, no matter how much he would deny it, Zoro didn't want that to happen.

After Nami was out of sight, Sanji finally managed to get enough of his brain to function so that he could speak. "What the hell was that? You just left my Nami-swan there by herself!" Sanji shouted, trying to pull his wrist out of Zoro's hand. He only succeeded in making Zoro grip onto him tighter, and he was left with nothing to do, but, either plant his feet and refuse to move, which was not likely to work, since Zoro was... well, Zoro. Or, he could rant some more. That was always a nice option.

"That was so rude, baka-Marimo! She's going to be mad at _me_ now, too, ya know!" Sanji paused for Zoro to explain himself, but, the swordsman remained silent. To amplify the affect of mute Zoro, they turned onto a quiet street that might well have been abandoned.

"Oi! Why'd you storm of like this? Answer me, baka-!" Sanji was cut off as Zoro pulled him sharply into the shadow of a rundown pawn shop. Zoro loosened his grip slightly on Sanji's wrist, and turned to look at him. Sanji would have yelled more, but, Zoro's eyes were telling him to shut up. He didn't like it, but, he complied, shutting his trap in hopes that, this time, Zoro would explain himself.

"I don't want that witch sticking her nose in places it doesn't belong." Zoro said, sounding angry and calm at the same time. With little hesitation Zoro said, "She told me to go costume shopping with you, and, to begin with, I refused. I don't do anything that I don't want to do."

There was a pause, wherein Sanji stared at Zoro with a growing anger in his eyes. "So, you only considered it because Nami said so?" Sanji asked, sounding hurt. Even he could hear it in his voice, despite the part of him that said it wasn't ready to embrace the feelings bubbling in his heart.

"I just said I don't do things I don't want to do. I considered it because I wanted to be around you." Zoro said, looking away from Sanji. He had been angry a moment ago with Nami for almost saying this stuff in front of Sanji, so, he didn't know why he just turned around and told it to the man's face. So many things were happening inside Zoro in this moment. He wasn't sure how it would end, but, he knew things would be very different.

Sanji couldn't find words. He just couldn't. Zoro's statement, however simple, had made the feelings inside him very, very active. What could he really say, right now? Anything would ruin this, and they would be back to gutting pumpkins. Probably figuring out where they were first, but, still. It would be the same, and somehow, that made Sanji hurt from his chest to his feet.

"Hey." Zoro loosened his grip even further, and stepped within a single arm's length of Sanji.

"... What?"

"Look at me."

"Why? Another stupid hat?"

Zoro rolled his eyes, and pulled Sanji closer to him. He could feel Sanji's body heat from where he stood, and it was a good feeling. A feeling that invoked more feelings. Thinking about all these things made Zoro's head hurt. So, he stopped thinking.

Zoro leaned closer to Sanji, trying again to get the cook to look at him. "Oi. Sanji." Zoro hoped that hearing his own name would make him look. It was nothing short of a perfect hit.

Sanji's head snapped up so he could stare at Zoro with wide eyes. The swordsman was closing in on him. Inching closer, and staring at him calmly, as if the distance between them wasn't closing at a gut-wrenching rate. Well, it was gut-wrenching for Sanji, and he couldn't discern between good and bad feelings with Zoro so close. He didn't know what was happening, or if it was a good idea or a total fuck-up. He just didn't know.

"What are you doing?" Sanji asked, in a voice much weaker than intended, as he took a small step back, followed by another and another. Zoro matched him step for step, keeping the space between them very limited as Sanji backed himself into a corner. As soon as Sanji's back touched the cold brick in the darkest area, he pretty much knew how this was going to go, but, he couldn't keep himself from repeating his question; "What are you doing?"

"I don't know." Zoro breathed. He put his palms flat against the wall on either side of Sanji. The blonde looked so unsure under his gaze, which was not a thing that either of them was familiar with, but, it only helped to make him curious about the other's reaction.

The feel of Zoro's lips ghosting against his own was enough to jolt Sanji from his stupor, and he gasped. "N- hey! I'm late for work!" Sanji turned and pushed Zoro's arm out of the way, striding towards the open street. Sanji still didn't know what he was doing. He didn't know if it would have been a mistake to let Zoro kiss him, he didn't know if his current course of action was a mistake. Not knowing anything really made him antsy. He had to get back on grounds where he could think properly.

However, he still wanted Zoro to come with him. That was why, when Sanji didn't hear any footsteps behind him, an odd stabbing was plaguing his chest. He stopped, reluctantly, and turned to see Zoro standing in the same spot with one hand still on the wall of the building, and the other in a fist at his side. Sanji took a breath, and focused on sounding normal; "The pumpkins are waiting on us. C'mon, or we'll both be punished for being late!" The cook said, trying his best at a smile.

Zoro didn't move. Faintly, Sanji could see him breathing. Deep, calming breaths, he hoped. "Nah, I, uh... I got somewhere else to be. Sorry." Zoro pushed off the building, and practically jogged his way back to the sidewalk, and started back the way they came.

"Hey! Aren't you gonna help me with Jack-o-Lantern duty?" Sanji called, running to catch up with Zoro, as he had been going in the opposite direction. The green head shook, as Zoro picked up his pace to get out of there. "You don't need my help." Zoro said, rounding a corner to another unfamiliar part of town.

Sanji finally couldn't stand it anymore. "ZORO!" He yelled.

The other stopped in his tracks. Why did his name affect him so much when it came from that mouth? "... Yeah?"

"Pumpkin guts are disgusting."

Zoro spluttered, walking the line between laughing and cursing. He whirled around to face Sanji, who was only a few feet behind him. "Huh? What is your _deal_?" Zoro cracked a smile against his will, and his attempted shout came out as a resigned question. Sanji liked that response. It meant that Zoro wasn't too mad at him.

"Are we still on for tomorrow?" Sanji asked, slightly out of breath. He could only hope he hadn't shot his only opportunities left to consider things. He wanted to be near Zoro while he thought. He wanted to hang out with him anyway. Whether or not they turned into anything. The swordsman hesitated, maybe even more than necessary, but, Sanji couldn't be sure. Then, after what might have been hours, he said, "Yeah, I guess."

Sanji was relieved. Zoro was giving him all the chances he needed, and, for that, he was very thankful. But, one other thing bothered Sanji; "So... about those pumpkins?"

Zoro chuckled, and Sanji laughed at the sound. Then it became a vicious cycle of one laughing at the other's laugh, until a distant bell chimed on the hour.

"Shit! I'm so late!"

"Well, hurry up, bastard! Come on!"

_**I know, I know, a failed moment! I sorry! I was blushing the entire time, though! . I'll work on the real 'moment' for next time. This one ran a little longer than intended, but, I hope you liked it all the same! Review, please!**_


	5. Festival

_**Sorry I couldn't put this out on Halloween! It's not uber late, though, so whatever. xD**_

_**I'd like to thank my few reviewers for their lovely thoughts on my story, and I promise I will write you another ZoSan fic. At least, after NaNoWriMo. ^^**_

_**Enjoy!**_

Sanji flopped backwards onto his bed. The day before, Thursday, he and Zoro had spent hours working on pumpkins. The kitchen was full of busy, cranky chefs, so they ended up carving the nasty melons upstairs in the living space that Sanji and Zeff shared. Luckily, Zeff hadn't been there, because he and Zoro were absolute goofballs about slimy pumpkin seeds, and they most certainly would have pissed him off.

They had so much fun. Zoro was given permission by Sanji to poke out the lines of half the Jack-o-Lanterns faces and carve them out, (More like ordered to, but, still), so he gave them the goofiest possible faces. Sanji laughed at him, and received a handful of pumpkin meat in the face for it. After that it was war. The fastest, the best, the scariest, the silliest. Indeed, Sanji had cherished that night. He even asked Zoro to stay for a bit after they finished carving. He'd said no, of course, which was the only downside to Sanji's evening.

And, school on Friday had been okay. It was school, so, it's not like it could really be anything but mundane. Immediately after school, he'd caught up to Zoro and told him where they were going. Zoro had reacted strangely to seeing Sanji. He'd been a little bit weird the entire time, actually. Sanji had noticed it on more than a few occasions. He wondered if Zoro was tired of being around him, but, he couldn't find it in himself to give Zoro the option of leaving. Of course, Zoro always had that option, but, Sanji didn't want him to leave, so, he hoped that not bringing it up would prolong what seemed inevitable.

He could honestly say he knew why Zoro was acting that way, though. He knew it was because of their 'almost' moment. When they'd parted ways just a few minutes earlier, Sanji had almost stopped Zoro. Almost. He wanted to talk, but, he was running late again, and Zoro seemed kind of angry at him, so he'd stopped short.

Sanji sighed, and sat up. He had acquired a few more costume pieces, so, he'd have very little left to do before the Festival. Of course, he'd have to be here, at the Baratie, for the majority of the weekend, but he had high hopes that Zeff would let him off early on Saturday.

The cook dragged himself up and changed into his work clothes. He couldn't keep his mind off the Zoro situation, but, he also couldn't dwell in his room while he was on the clock. Especially if he didn't want Zeff to come up and yell at him about being a lazy eggplant.

_"So, how'd it go yesterday?"_

"None of your damn business."

_"And, what about earlier? You two went shopping together, right?"_

"None of your business...!"

_"Oh, come on!"_

Zoro hung up before Nami could bother him anymore. She was way too curious about him and Sanji. Almost more curious than Zoro was. Honestly, he really wanted to know what was going on, but, Sanji seemed not to care, so, for the sake of their 'friendship' Zoro glued his trap shut.

They had pretty much carried on as per usual yesterday, and that irked him. He didn't know if Sanji knew or cared, but, he was starting to lose patience with this whole matter. After a few days of being friends, and then two days of wanting to be more, Zoro just wanted to tell someone. He couldn't. He and Sanji had agreed not to tell their friends that they were even hanging out, let alone that he wanted to date the cook.

Zoro shivered at the thought. Okay, so, the idea of it was still alien to him, but, whatever. He knew it was true, and it was what he wanted.

The swordsman heaved a sigh, and his feet carried him to the back room of his one-story home. The largest room, by far, because he had two walls taken out. This room was his training room. Weights were in two corners of the room, one with ridiculously large dumbbells, and the other with a weight-lifting bench and four-hundred pounds of add-ons. In another corner of the room were some clean towels, neatly rolled, and a pile of dirty laundry.

In the middle of the room were a large mat, a simple affair, and a black metal stand with three swords held up on its arms. Zoro smiled at them, quite ready to start training. He really just needed to clear his mind, and trying his hardest to kill invisible enemies and develop his skill would do just that.

- _Saturday afternoon _-

Nami directed traffic for all the high-school volunteers at the festival. She commanded them on how and where to set up the booths and bring the necessary equipment. Luffy and Ussop were under her government, and were currently ordered to set up all the required instruments for the booths that were selling food. The best job ever, according to Luffy.

So far, things were going as planned. Haunted houses were being set up, and web-covered lanterns were being strung throughout the festival grounds. It was all coming together in the eyes of any passer-by, but, to Nami, her centerpieces had yet to arrive.

Zoro had to teach four classes, of fifteen kids each, how to hold a sword, and Sanji, of course, had to cook. It would seem, at this point, that Nami's favorite guests would be late to her festival of drama. Perfect.

As the day came to rest, and the evening rose, people began to file in, paying a small fee at the gate, of course. Robin and Chopper were some of the first to show up, since Robin had gone to pick up hers and Nami's costumes. After them, half the high school, and most all the children from town showed up. Nearly an hour and a half into the festival, one of Nami's focuses showed up.

"Ah, Zoro! I thought you'd be later than this?" Nami stood from her seat, mid-way through counting her profits. Zoro nodded at her, not really expecting much of a greeting. He handed over the money that he knew she'd ask for, and started on his way over to a particularly noisy booth that he figured was where his friends were.

"Hey, hold on a sec! I need to talk to you." Nami sounded almost serious, so Zoro stopped and gave her the tiniest fraction of his attention. "What about?" Zoro asked, withholding the sigh he so desperately wanted to breathe. He glanced over his shoulder, and saw Nami counting her money at a speed that would make lightning cry, then shoving it in her pocket.

She sat on the table of her booth and slid her legs over the top, and pushed off with her hands so that she was beside Zoro. "Sanji isn't here yet." Nami stated, bluntly, looking Zoro right in the eye. He nearly fell over at her statement. Of course he'd known Sanji would be even later than himself, but, hearing it like that kind of made him worried that Sanji wouldn't show at all. Zoro collected himself, and asked over his shoulder, "Your point?"

Nami smiled in an almost kind way, and touched Zoro's arm. "I may have been going about this the wrong way for the past few days, but, you like Sanji, don't you?" She asked. Zoro didn't answer, but, Nami didn't seem to mind. She just nodded, and continued. "All I want to say to you is good luck. I have a similar agenda for this evening," Nami tossed her head in the direction of the noisy booth. "And, I should hope we're both successful."

The swordsman made a bit of an amazed sound, and turned his gaze towards the booth where he could now see Luffy and Ussop shooting head-less horsemen with water guns. "Faithful to the Captain, huh?"

"Yep. But, I guess he ain't your type." Nami winked at him, and Zoro almost laughed. He was offended, but, she was right. Luffy was a good friend but... Sanji was... Sanji. "Yeah." Zoro mumbled, averting his eyes back to Nami's face. "Can I go now?" He asked, raising a bored eyebrow.

"No! You haven't wished me luck yet!" Nami yelled, slapping the back of Zoro's head. The dead swordsman darted forward, and waved over his shoulder. "Good luck, witch!" He called, catching the attention of his sharp-shooting friends. "I'm a devil-woman, got it?" Nami called back, pointing a finger at Zoro.

It didn't take long for Zoro to get tired of the noise. An hour at most, and he was wandering off to the wooded area at the edge of the festival grounds. Probably not a smart idea for him, but, he had to get away from the wailing children, and loud conversations. Besides, he'd already seen the booths he wanted to see, accompanied by Luffy and Ussop. Now, a break was necessary.

He took a deep breath of the un-polluted air, and smiled. While the food and candy at the festival smelled good, mixed together it was almost vomit-inducing. Sugary sweet mixed with something that smelled really spicy and salty did not bode well for one's stomach. It was made all the worse by the slight ache in Zoro's stomach left over from something a student had given him for Halloween. It had been a treat, but, it would have been better for Zoro if the child had had an adult name the thing properly; Toxic waste on an apple.

Zoro shivered at the thought, and plopped down at the base of a good-sized tree. His traditional robes fell around him with almost unbelievable elegance, and his swords clacked against each other. Zoro felt quite himself in his costume.

"Hey. I found you."

Zoro stiffened immeasurably as his eyes darted towards the source of the voice, standing a few yards away. He wore a white mask with intricate blue designs that covered his entire face, and a black cape that shone blue in the faint moonlight. Zoro couldn't tell what or who he was by looking at him, but, he knew that, underneath, it was Sanji.

"I guess you did. Wanna sit?" Zoro moved his swords to the other side, and offered Sanji the spot to his immediate right. The masked Sanji nodded, and covered the distance easily, despite the lack of legs. He sat beside Zoro with a small thump, and offered him a clenched, gloved hand. Sanji opened his hand palm-up, to reveal a handful of candy corns. Zoro declined, respectfully.

Sanji shrugged, and settled further against the tree trunk. "So, what are you doing out here? Is the festival no good?" Sanji asked, pulling his mask up to rest on the top of his head. He tried to read Zoro's expression, but, there was something unusual about it.

Zoro looked around at the trees and such, hesitating a bit too long to make sense, but, he still replied; "It's just loud. Too busy. I came here to just _chill_." Though Zoro thought he sounded like a hippie or something, his words made sense to himself, so, whatever.

Next to him, Sanji shivered. "That would definitely happen. What is it, negative two out here?" Sanji laughed lightly, leaning into Zoro's side. Whatever else the outfit might be good for, Sanji did not know, but, it was hella warm. He snuggled in a bit closer, thanking his lucky stars that Zoro didn't seem to hate being so close to him. Perhaps he wasn't really mad?

Any inkling that Zoro might have been mad at Sanji dissipated from the cook's mind, when a haori-clad arm wrapped around his waist and pulled him closer. Sanji rested his head on Zoro's shoulder, cautiously, and asked, just in case, "Hey, did I... upset you? Before, I mean, at-"

"I know what you mean." Zoro interrupted him, tightening his grip around the Sanji's waist. "You did, but, it's fine. I was gonna talk to you about that." Zoro said, pausing to think about how he would word it. _Really. I mean, I can't just say 'go out with me'. And, what if I'm fuckin' rejected? That'd be a day for the ages. 'Enemies until their first year of high school, when RORONOA ZORO confessed his feelings to Sanji'._

He really didn't know how to begin. Neither of them did. They couldn't even know that they had an identical goal until one of them spoke, and each was bound and determined not to be the first one to bring it up. That could go on forever, they both thought, and they'd just sit there in that moment, dangling their feet over lake 'almost'.

"Ne, is it alright if I call you Zoro?" Sanji asked, tilting his head slightly to look at Zoro. The other nodded, and grinned. "So, it's okay if I call you Sanji?" Zoro asked, looking at Sanji out of the corner of his eye. The blonde nodded, and laughed. "We should use these nicknames more often!" He decided.

As quickly as it was broken, the silence returned. A bit less stiff, but, still just as deafening. They didn't dare break it. One wrong word and all the silent and invisible walls they'd built over the course of a week would crumble down smaller than they ever were before. Perhaps, they were being over-dramatic about it, but, it felt like they were sitting in the only safe spot in a minefield. A comfortable place temporarily, with impending failure all around. Despite the crash-and-burn just waiting to happen, Zoro went for it.

"Sanji."

"Hm?"

"I want to kiss you."

"W-what?" Sanji sat upright and turned to Zoro. He was sure his face was flushed, but, his main concern was figuring out how the hell Zoro got to be so brave all of the sudden. "Don't you have any sense? Baka!" Sanji couldn't stop himself from being offensive. After all, that's what fifteen years of being the straightest of straight guys will do to you. He didn't do well with this.

But, Zoro wasn't leaving him time to 'do well'. He didn't hesitate like last time. Oh, no, he had learned better. Instead, he pulled Sanji forward by his collar, and crushed their lips together. He'd given enough time for all the hooblah, and now, he'd had enough. Whether or not the cook liked it, they were going to kiss.

Sanji was completely shocked by the action, and almost had a fit at the thought of kissing a guy. But, the thought of kissing Zoro had him accepting it a bit quicker, and he slowly let his eyelids close. What was he doing? He didn't know. Where was he? He didn't care. What did he know and care about? Zoro. Hands down.

Zoro's lips felt kind of rough against Sanji's. He could've expected that, though. What he didn't expect was that he would allow something like this. They had been there for what must have been twenty seconds before Zoro nipped at Sanji's bottom lip. He gasped, eyes flying open, and Zoro pulled away.

Sanji could've cried just then. He was only shocked, he didn't mean for Zoro to stop. He was about to say so, when Zoro chuckled. "Wh-what's so funny?" Sanji asked, confused on whether or not he should be offended. Zoro shook his head; "'M sorry about that, just now." Zoro said, taking his arm back from around Sanji.

"Hey!" Sanji grabbed his hand, and pulled it back to its previous spot on his hip. "Don't apologize, bastard!" The cook scolded, getting up just enough so he could move onto Zoro's lap. He scooted further until his back was flat against Zoro's stomach, and then pulled Zoro's arms around himself.

"Eh?" Zoro blinked, watching the top of the blonde head as Sanji settled into his lap. "I hope you don't mind... I'll be occupying this space." Sanji mumbled. Zoro hummed, squeezing his arms around Sanji in a strange hug. "I guess I don't mind." Zoro said, a smile making itself known on his face and in his voice.

Sanji giggled triumphantly, and leaned his head back as far as it would go so he could see Zoro. "It would be easier if you just leaned to the side, idiot." Zoro noted, laughing when the cook frowned at him. "C'mere." Zoro readjusted himself until he could face Sanji comfortably, and placed a light kiss on his lips.

"Heey..." Sanji practically whined, pulling on Zoro's arms. The swordsman laughed. "Yeah, yeah, you're obviously against this." He said, kissing Sanji again. This time, Sanji kissed back. He knew Zoro was joking, but, he didn't want him to think for even a second that Sanji was against it.

When they parted, Zoro asked, "So, d'you wanna go out with me?"

The cook pretended to think about it. What was there to think about? He could waste an eternity sitting here evaluating their possible relationship, but, where the hell would that get him? "Hmm. No." Sanji said, facing forwards.

"What?"

"I'm joking, idiot. Of course, I'll go out with you."

"Bastard." Zoro stated, smiling nonetheless. Sanji laughed briefly; "This is gonna be one hell of a trip." He said. Zoro nodded in agreement, and the two sat there in silence for a while. At some point, the thought crossed both their minds that their friends might be looking for them, and they didn't much care, but, they didn't want to be caught as they were. It wasn't quite yet time to tell the others about the events that can unfold in a week.

So, they got up and headed back towards the festival, for they had a great thing to celebrate.

"Candy corn?"

"Baka."

_**The end! Tada! What do you think? I will be writing a sequel, so look forward to it! I hope to receive plenty of reviews for this one. ^^**_

_**You'll review it, won't you? Oh, please? It would make me so happy! ;D**_

_**Have a nice November!**_


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